Gage for setting cutter-head blades.



No. 678,7!2. Patented July l6, [90L 6. W. H. BLOOD & F. F. WOODS. GAGEFOB SETTING CUTTER HEAD BLADES.

(Application filed Dec. 10, 1900.) (No Model.)

.BZOOGZ, I M00035,

Uirnn latent tries.

CHARLES W. H. BLOOD, OF BOSTON, AND FRANK F. \VOODS, OF BROOKLINE,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO S. A. WOODS MACHINE COMPANY, OF

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

GAGE FOR SETTING CUTTVER- -HEAD BLADES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,712, dated July 16,1901.

Application filed December 10, 1900. Serial No. 39,255. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES W.H. BLOOD, a resident of Boston, in thecounty of Suffolk, and FRANK F. WOODS, a resident of Brookline, in thecounty of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, citizens of the UnitedStates, have invented an Improvement in Setting Cutter-Head Blades, ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompa- Io nying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

The setting of the blades on rotary cutterheads-such, for instance, asare used in planers and other woodworking-machines- I 5 must be Veryaccurate in order that each blade on the cutter-head shall have exactlythe same clearance or projection beyond the lip of the blade-seat, sothat the cutting edge of each blade shall travel in the exact path ofall the other blades, such path being termed the cutting-cylinder.

Our present invention has for its object the production of simple andeffective means for readily setting the blades of a cutter-head with thegreatest accuracy, so that the adjustment desired may be accomplishedwith rapidity and precision, the cutting edge of each blade beinglocated exactly in the cutting-cylinder.

Various novel features of our invention will be hereinafter described,and particularly pointed out in the following claims.

Figure 1 is a front elevation, centrally broken out, of a cutter-headand one of the 5 blades in place thereon with one embodiment of ournovel setting-gage in operative position. Fig. 2 is a right-hand endelevation of the cutter-head, blade, and gage illustrated in Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a part top or plan View of the head, showing the gage inposition to set the blade. Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of theabutment forming a part of the gage. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of amodified form of gage to be described. Fig. 6 is an end View thereof.Fig. 7 is a top or plan View of such modification. Fig. 8 is a sideelevation of yet another modification to be described, and Fig. 9 is atop View of the abutment shown in Fig. 8.

The cutter-head A is herein shown of usual construction in its generalfeatures, provided with plane faces or seats a for the cutterblades B,four of such seats being illustrated, each seat having a longitudinalundercut groove a to receive the heads Z) of the blade holding bolts 1),which pass up. through transverse slots b in the blade in usual manner,suitable nuts 12*, when set up tightly against washers w on the blade,holding the latter in operative position. with a longitudinal groove orthroat b arranged adjacent the lip 22 of the next bladeseat, such throataifording a clearance for the chips which are taken oh? by the cuttingedge of the adjacent blade.

So far as described the structure of the cutter-head is not novel withus, the said head being mounted on a shaft D, which is rotated in usualmanner well known to those skilled in the art, and it is to be observedthat the number of blades which the cutterhead isv adapted to carry isimmaterial so far as our invention is concerned.

The distance which the cutting edge of the blade projects beyond the lipb determines to a certain extent the character of the cut to be made,and manifestly ona cutter-head carrying a plurality of blades thecutting edge of each must traverse exactly the same circular path orcutting-cylinder traversed by all of the other blades, and our inventionprovides simple and conveniently-operated means by the use of which eachandevery blade may be so set up that its clearance, or, in other Words,the distance its edge projects beyond the lip of its seat, will beprecisely equal to the clearance of every other blade. We have hereinshown the gage forming a a part of such means as comprising a carrieradapted to be removably applied to the cutter-head in a predeterminedposition and an abutment on the carrier overhanging the lip of the seata distance equal to the desired clearance for the blade when the edge ofthe latter is set up against the abutment, the carrier being hereinshown as an elongated flat metal bar 0, adapted in the present instanceof our invention to rest upon the blade to be set and extendingtransversely across the same, the rear end of the carrier being adapt-10o The head is provided 60 ed to engage a part of the cutter-head afixed distance from the lip of the corresponding seat and within thebody of the head. Herein the rear end of the carrier is shown asdownturned at c to enter alongitudinal setting groove 6 shown as made ineach of the throats b at the back of the blade to be set. At its otheror front end the carrier is provided with an abutment 0 which dependsfrom thelower side of the carrier, and in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the abutmentis shown as a rectangular block of preferably some soft metal, anenlarged perspective view of the abutment being shown in Fig, 4. Theabutment is shown as provided with two grooves c c in its upper face,intersecting each other at right angles, a threaded hole 0 being made inthe abutment at the intersection of the grooves, but it will be notedthat the grooves are not equidistant from the sides of the abutment,which is shown as square. The groove 0 for instance, is nearer the face2 of the abutment than its opposite face and the groove 0 is nearer theface 3 than the opposed face.

Atransverse lip c is made on the under side of the carrier, the latterbeing also cut away, as at 8, (see Fig. 2,) and this lip or rib fitssnugly into one or the other of the grooves in the abutment, a screw 12passing through the carrier into the threaded hole 0 of the abutment andholding the latter securely in place. Now if the rib enters the groove 0there will be a certain distance between the downturned end of thecarrier and the innermost face, as 4, of the abutment, and the latterwill overhang the lip b and be separated therefrom a distance just equalto the desired clearance for the blades when set up. If, however, theabutment should be turned half-way around, bringing the face 2 intoposition to engage the edge of the blade,

obviously the clearance of the latter when set up will be greater,because there is a less distance between the screw 12 and said face 2than between the screw and the face 4. Different adjustments can also bemade by turning the abutment around to enable the lip c to enter thegroove 0 It will be understood that once the abutment has been adjustedfor the desired clearance all of the blades will be set up with suchadjustment.

The operation of the device will be obvious from the drawings, the saidnuts I) being loose until the blade is set up with its cutting edgeagainst the abutment, the gage being in the position shown in Figs. 1,2, and 3, after which the nuts will be screwed home and the blade firmlysecured in properly-set position. The cutter-head will then be turnedaround to bring another face uppermost, and its blade will be set insimilar manner.

We prefer to use a pair of gages, particularly on cutter-heads ofconsiderable length, one located near each end of the head in setting upthe blade, the carriers then being in parallelism and held so by theengagement of the ends c with the setting-groove b Even when the lastblade of the series is reached it can be set in precisely the mannerdescribed and with the same accuracy as the preceding blades have beenset.

Of course the several setting-grooves must be accurately positioned inthe cutter-head so that every groove will be the same distance back ofthe lip of the corresponding seat.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 we have shown a modified form for the gage, thecarrier d being downturned at its front end, as at d, to receive anadjusting-screw (P, which bears against the outer face of the abutment dthe latter in this instance being grooved in its upper face to receivelips 20, which embrace the sides of the carrier, a set-screw d passingthrough an elongated slot 01 in the carrier and into the abutment. Whenthe set-screw d is loosened, the abutment can be moved in or out,according to the amount which the adjusting screw d is set up, in orderto give the desired clearance for the blade, the gage being used ashereinbefore described, it being understood, of course, that after thedesired position of the abutment has been attained the set-screw d isset up firmly.

In Figs. 8 and 9 yet another modification is shown, the carrier f havinga transverse groove f in its under side near its outer end to receive alip f on the top of the abutment f This abutment has two faces 30 and32, parallel to each other, but unequally distant from the center, thelatter being held in place on the carrier bya set screw 35, which entersa threaded hole f By turning the abutment so that one or the other ofits faces 30 or 32 is turned inward the clearance for the blade isadjusted. The relatively soft material of which the abutment is madeprevents the edge of the blade from being turned when it is moved upagainst the abutment to be set.

It will be observed that the positioning of the carrier when the gage isin use does not depend in any way upon any blade, except so far as thecarrier rests on the top of the blade to be set, the fixed point withwhich the gage cooperates being a part of the cutterhead itself and on aline within the body of the head parallel to its longitudinal axis.

In actual practice a set of gages would go with each cutter-head, thelatter being properly machined to bring the groove 6 in exactly theright position for cooperation with the corresponding set of gages.

The face of the abutment which determines the positioning of the bladeto be set is located in a plane which intersects the cuttingcylinder inthe line of intersection of such cylinder by the cutting edge of theblade when properly set.

It will be observed that the thickness of the blade is of no moment inusing the gage herein described, as the part of the cutter-head engagedby the rear end of the gage will be in a plane vertical to the seat ofthe blade to be set.

Our invention is not restricted to the precise construction andarrangement herein shown, as the same may be modified and rearrangedWithout departing from the spirit and scope of our invention.

Having fully described our inventi011,what We claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A setting-gage for the blade of a cutterhead, consisting of a carrieradapted to rest upon the blade to be set, and having a downturned end toengage the cutter-head at a fixed distance behind the lip thereof, anabutment on the carrier overhanging the lip at a predetermined distancetherefrom, to act as a stop for the blade when the desired clearancethereof has been attained, means to connect the abutment and carrier,'and a positioning-rib on one to enter a cooperating groove in the other.

2. A setting-gage for the blade of a cutterhead, consisting of a carrieradapted to be removably applied to the cutter-head in a predeterminedposition, and to extend transversely across the blade to be set when onits seat, an abutment having two opposite parallel faces, mounted on thecarrier overhanging the lip of the cutter-head with the acting face at adistance therefrom equal to the desired clearance for the blade, theabutment serving as a stop when the blade is set up, and means passedthrough the carrier and in to the abutment unequally distant from thetwo faces of the latter, to connect the abutment and carrier with one orthe other face in position to cooperate with the blade to be set.

3. A blade-setting gage consisting of a carrier having a transverse ribon its under side at one end, a rectangular abutment having in its upperface intersecting grooves unequally distant from the two faces parallelto each groove, the rib on the carrier entering one or other groove toposition the abutment, and means to connect the abutment and carrier.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHAS. W. H. BLOOD. FRANK F. WOODS. Witnesses:

A. II. DRAPER, R. W. TRUSSELL.

